What is a Completion Report?
A
completion report is used by companies in order to document projects that are
carried out. Its primary purpose is to
enable the readers to understand how the problem was solved, what the results
were, and the meaning or implications of its findings, as well as the
circumstances leading up to the problem. After doing each of the following
activities, you will write a completion report to document and communicate your
entire problem-solving process.
How do I Write a Completion Report?
When
writing a completion report, it is important to keep in mind who
your audience is. You must write it so
that anyone who reads it will be able
to follow what you did. Your audience
may include non-technical people who simply want an overview of the problem,
how it was solved, and the results. On
the other hand, it will also include people (such as your teacher) who want to
know every detail and computation that was carried out. To accommodate both sets of readers, you
should include a brief overview of the entire process in your
introduction. Your completion report
should include the following components:
Title
Page
This should contain a clear, concise title of
your report, your name, the date, and the name of the person to whom the report
is submitted (your teacher).
Introduction
An introduction should
include the following:
·
A statement of the problem and a description of
the background of the problem (e.g. what led to the problem, why is it
important to solve the problem);
·
A brief
overview of the report, including how the problem was solved;
·
A glossary of key terms that your reader will
need in order to understand your report.
Method
In the methods section, you describe in detail how you solved the problem, and you will
justify the procedures you
chose. In other words, this section
answers the question “What did you do and why?”
It should consist mainly of written text, although it may be appropriate
to include general mathematical formulas as well. It should also include a list of all the
materials used in the activity.
Results
The results section consists of any data that
you created, as well as any calculations you carried out. It consists mainly of mathematical equations
and procedures, but may also include tables and graphs if appropriate. In other words, what did you get when you
carried out the steps described in the methods section? Your results section
will be most convincing if you can support your algebraic calculations with the
use of technology. Do not comment on or
interpret your results in this section.
Conclusions
and Recommendations
In addition to summarizing the outcome of the
project, the conclusion section discusses the meaning and implications of the results. It also includes recommendations: What should be done now?
Bibliography
If you are using outside
sources (e.g. the internet), make sure you cite them appropriately in your
bibliography.
Link to an example
of a completion report.
Source: Engineering Reports: Completion Reports, Natasha Artemeva, SLALS,